Stapling machine



Jan, 19, 1932.- cRAlG 1,841,522

STAPLING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 23, 1928 Jail. 19, 1932.

E. cams STAPLING MACHINE Fiied-Ign. 23. 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ell/(67L 7 Jan. 19, 1932. E. CRAIG 1,841,522

STAPLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 23, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5'" Jan.'l9, 1932.. E. CRAIG STAPLING IACHINE Filed Jazi. 23, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 mew Eda/mat O a:

6 Sneets-Shet 5 man 0 7: Edward 7 Jan. 19, 1932. a. CRAIG STAPLING IACHINE Filed Jan. 23, 1928 Jan. 19, 1932. E. CRAIG STAPLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 23, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 atented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD CRAIG, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO SARANAC AUTOMATIC HA- CHINE CORPORATION, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE STAPLING MACHINE Application filed January 23, 1928. Serial No. 248,606.

crate blanks in that crate blanks are made by using strips of veneer or sheet material spaced apart to provide openings in the sides of the crate, whereas box blanks are made by using continuous sheet material to provide entirely closed sides for the box.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby wire-bound box or crate blanks can be made in a rapid and eflicient manner, with less liability of producing defective blanks than heretofore.

It is also an object to provide a novel and improved construction involving a variable ratchet feed whereby the staples may be accurately placed at predetermined points on the blanks.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved arrangement whereby the mechanism for cutting the wires between blanks is automatically restored tonormal or inoperative position by eccentric means on the upper, horizontal transverse shaft by which the staples are actuated.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction, and combinations tending to increase the general efficiency and the desirability'of a wire-bound box or crate blank machine of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a wire-bound box and crate blank machine embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one end portion of said machine.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section on line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a similar section on line 4-4 in Fig.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on line 5-5 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section on line 6-6 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a perspective of one of the adustable ratchet teeth of the improved ratchet feed mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the crate blanks that can be made on the said machine.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation said blank.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged side elevation of a partlon of the said improved, variable, ratchet feed mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a similar view form of the invention.

Figs. 12 and 13 are detail sectional views illustrating the automatic catch mechanism for retaining the wire cutters in raised posior general view of showing another cutters into operative position each time the wires are to be cut between blanks.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a main body frame 1 suitably supported on a base 2 and provided with an upper, transverse driving shaft 3, and a lower, transverse rock shaft 4 supported in suitable bearings on the side frame. Parallel, longitudinally extending cleat guides 5 are provided between the side portions of said main body frame, and endless feed chains or belts 6 are carried on sprockets 7 mounted on the transverse shaft 8, this being the delivery or discharge end portion of the machine, and the other end of the machine being broken away and not shown for convenience of illustration. It will be understood that a shaft similar to the shaft 8 and sprockets similar to the sprockets 7 are employed at said other end of the machine, as is common in box blank machinery of this kind. The sprocket chains are provided with cleat pushers 9 on the blocks 10, and these blocks and the other blocks 11 have upstanding sheet spacers or pushers 12, as is common and well known in machinery of this kind. The pushers 9 engage the shoulders 13 of the cleats 14, it will be understood, to slide the cleats along the guides 5, and the upstanding sheet spacers or pushers 12 engage the rear edges of the strips 15, from which a crate portions of the said main body blank is made, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings. Of course, by a re-arrangement of the adjustable blocks 10 and 11, a different kind of blank can be made, such as an ordinary wire-bound box blank, and blanks of different lengths can be made, and of different widths, inasmuch as the cleat guides and feed chains are adjustable toward and away from each other in an suitable 10 known or approved manner, this adjustability being common and well known in machines of this kind. The cross bar 16 has the stapler heads 17 mounted thereon, and the shaft 3 is provided with cams 18 for actuating said staplers, in the well known manner, where by the staplers will automatically form and drive staples to secure the binding wires 19 to the blanks, and to secure the sheet material to the cleats. Staple wires 20 are fed from the reels 21 through the feed devices 22, of any suitable character, to the staplers, in the well known manner, these feed devices being arranged on the transverse shaft 23 and actuated by ratchet mechanism 24 through the medium of a rod 25 connected to cam mechanism 26 on the shaft 3 previously mentioned.

The ratchet feed mechanism for intermittently actuating the endless feed belts, in a manner to insure accurate insertion of the staples at predetermined points on the blanks, comprises the ratchet wheel 27 keyed on the shaft 8 and actuated by a dog or pawl 28 carried on a swinging arm 29 swiveled on said shaft. This arm 29 is connected by a rod 30 with the upper end of the arm 31 which is rigid with the rock shaft 4, although this shaft 4 may be held stationary and the arm 31 can oscillate thereon. A rod 32 pivotally connects the arm 31 with the cam mechanism 33 on the shaft 3, this shaft being continuously driven by the pulley clutch 34 at one side of the machine. The cam mechanism 33, therefore, will reciprocate the rod 30, and this will cause the dog 28 to intermittently actuate the ratchet feed wheel 27, causing the shaft 8 to have an intermittent rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow 35, causing the endless feed belts that carry the blanks to move intermittently in the direction indicated by the arrow 36, whereby the blanks are passed under the staplers and discharged at this end of the machine. It will be seen that the angle of the arm 31, however, is such that the feed through this ratchet wheel 27 and ratchet dog 28 start very slowly and gradually increase in speed, so that the feed stroke of this ratchet mechanism starts slowly and terminates abruptly at relatively high speed. The means for producing the complete feed stroke necessary for feeding the work-carrying feed belts the desired distance, in continuation of the partial feed stroke produced by the ratchet 27 and dog 28, comprises an arm 37 on the shaft 8, oscillatory thereon, pivotally connected by a rod 38 with the arm 39, which latter has a bellcrank shorter arm 40 connected by a rod 41 with the eccentric mechanism 42 on the shaft 3 previously mentioned, these bellcrank arms being loosely mounted on the shaft 4 previously mentioned. The arm 37 is rigid with the arm 43, and the latter is provided with an adjustable block 44 which can be fixed in any adjusted position along the length of the arm 43, while said block 44 is adjustably connected by a turnbuckle 45 with a block 46 whichis adjustable on the arm 47, said arm 47 being oscillatory on the shaft 48 suitably mounted on a frame member 49, as shown, the shaft 48 being parallel with the shaft 8, as shown, but disposed in a lower lane. The block 46 has a ratchet dog 50 or engaging the teeth 51 on the ratchet wheel52, this ratchet wheel being rigid with the shaft 48, and the latter being geared through gears 53, 54 and 55 to the shaft 8 previously mentioned. Thus the oscillation of the arms 37 and 43, produced through the connections therefrom to the eccentric 42, cause the ratchet dog 50 to reciprocate back and forth, and to thereby intermittently rotate the ratchet wheel 52, causing the shaft 8 in turn to rotate intermittently. The starting point of the feed stroke of the dog 50 against one of the teeth 51 is where the feed stroke of the dog 28 leaves off, and begins at high speed, but the feed stroke of the dog 50 slows up and terminates at slow speed, whereby the entire feed stroke begins slowly and increases in speed, and then terminates at low speed, thereby to prevent jerking out of place of the materials being fed forward by the endless feed chains.

As a matter of further and special improvement, it will be seen that said feed-mechanism ratchet teeth 51 are set at irregular intervals on the periphery of the ratchet wheel 52, whereby the staples 56 are driven at irregular intervals, but at the predetermined points on the work necessary for the proper stapling of the wires and sheets or strips and cleats together. As shown in Figs. 7 and 10, it will be seen that the teeth 51 are each provided with a clamping device 57 whereby these teeth may be adjusted along the serrated periphery 58 in order to place them in the desired position thereon, so that the teeth will be in proper relation to each other to insure the exact placing of the staples in the desired predetermined points on the work. But, as shown in Fig. 11, the teeth 59, while disposed at irregular intervals on the ratchet wheel,

are integral therewith, and are not adjustable,

so that with a ratchet wheel of this kind, instead of the ratchet wheel 52, the spacing of the staples could not be varied as it can with the previously described ratchet mechanism.

For the making of ordinary box blanks,

by methods not requiring irregular spacing or placing of the staples, the arm 37 may have a ratchet dog 60 for engaging the ratchet wheel 61 which is ri id with the shaft 8 previously m ntioned. hen the previously described at chet mechanism is in operation, this dog 60 is thrown out of operative position, so that it will not function. However, when it is desired to use the dog 60 and the ratchet Wheel 61, the dog 60 is then thrown into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and the dog and also the dog 28 are thrown out of action and into inoperative positions, in any suitable or desired manner, so that an ordinary ratchet feed action will then be produced through the medium of the dog and the ratchet wheel 61 to intermittently actuate the endless feed belts in the ordinary manner, thereby to feed the box blank materials under the staplers for stapling in the well known manner.

As a matter of further and special improvement, the blank materials are held down by sled runners, so to speak, 62, one at each side of the machine, in position to bear down upon the blank materials, these bar-like sled runners being carried by the arms 63 fixed on a transverse rod 64, the arms 63, one at each side of the machine, being between the pivoted arms 65, which latter are pivoted at 66 on the side members of the body frame, as shown. Each arm has a stop device 67 for adjustably limiting the up and down motion of the rod 64, and the consequent up and down motion of the sled runners or presser bars 62, and to produce this motion the rod .64 is connected to a stationary, transverse rock shaft 68 by means of toggle arms 69 and 70, which have a toggle joint 71 where they are pivotally connected together. The arms 69 are rigid with the rod 64, and are therefore rigid with the runners, the end portions of the rod being free to turn in the arms 65 when the runners are raised and lowered.

-' A hand lever 72 is rigid with the rock shaft 68, and by pulling upward on this hand lever, so as to bring the toggle connections into the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the runners or presser bars 62 will be raised a slight distance above the work, thereby to permit manual manipulation or re-arrangement of the cleats and sheets or strips of material. When the hand lever 72 drops downward, it will pull the presser bars 62 downward by gravity, so that these bars will rest on the work and keep the sheets or strips and the cleats from rising, thus preventing undesirable upward displacement of the work while under the staplers, and at a time when the work must be held firmly in position to receive the staples. It will be understood that the staples are driven during the times that the endless feed belts are not in motion, and that between the driving of successive staples the feed strokes of the ratchet feed clutch will be opened and the entire machine will be stopped, thuspermitting the operator or attendant to have ample time in which to remedy the difiiculty in the work, under the staplers, as by pulling out broken materials, or by re-arranging the work to suit the requirements.

As a matter of further and special improvement, the wire cutters 76 are mounted on the rock shaft 77 that extends transversely above the feeding plane of the work, said rock shaft having a crank arm 78 that is.

connected by a rod 79 with the eccentric mechanism 80 on the shaft 3 previously mentioned. Thus the scissor-like cutters 76 are automatically raised, after cutting the wires, by the pull on the rod 79, and the cutters are held in this position by the arm 81, which is rigid with the rock shaft 77 and which is automatically brought into engagement with the pivoted latch bar 82, whereby the cutters are automatically retained in raised position while the rod 79 continues to reciprocate in the arm 78, and until the time comes for again cutting or severing the wires between blanks. The cutters are automatically lowered into operative position to cut the wires by the engagement of the cams- 83 on the blocks 84 on one of the feed chains, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, with the roller 85 on the other end of the rachet bar 82, the latter being subject to the pressure of a spring 86 to yieldingly hold it in latching engagement with the arm 81 previously mentioned. Thus the cutters are allowed to swing by gravity into operative position each time a cam 83 engages the roller 85, and the cutters are raised immediately after the cutting action, automatically, by the rod 7 9, in the manner previously described. The scissor-like cutters are actuated by a transverse rod 87, and this rod is in turn actuated by the arm 88 on the vertical rock shaft 89 mounted in a suitable bearing at one side of the machine. The lower end of this rock shaft has an arm 90 provided with an adjustable set screw 91 adapted to be engaged by the arm 92, which is rigid with the rod 38 previously mentioned. Therefore, each time that the arm 92 bumps the set screw 91, the arm 88 will engage the end of the rod 87 and actuate the scissor-like cutters. This action is timed to occur, it will be understood, as soon as the cutters are lowered into operative position. A suitable spring, not shown, may be employed to automatically return the rock shaft and its arms 88 and 90 to normal position, after the cutters have been actuated to cut the wires.

To prevent over-feed, a brake drum 93 may be provided on the shaft 48, and a suitable bra e band 94 may be provided thereon and connected in a suitable manner with the rod 95, which has its end pivoted. on the arm 39 previously mentioned. With this arrangement, the brake band will be tightened by the shoulder 96 on the rod 95, when this shoulder strikes the end portion 97 of the brake band, and the tightening of the band will occur in a predetermined manner at the end of the feed stroke of the ratchet mechanism, thus preventing the feed chains from over-feeding, and causing the length of each feed stroke to be accurate.

It will be seen that the gearing between the shafts 8 and 48 can be removed, or some of it, so that gearing of a different ratio can be substituted therefor, thereby to change the length of feed. Adjustment of the elements 44, 45 and 46, in the manner previously explained, can be taken advantage of to regulate the length of feed, as Wlll be readilyunderstood.

Thus the ratchet wheel 52 is adapted to make one complete rotation for each blank made on the machine, starting from substantially the middle of one space between two blanks and terminating at the middle of the next space between blanks. In this way the ratchet wheel 52 repeats on each blank, so

to speak, so that the staples will be driven and placed-in the same way on each blank.

The successive staples on each blank can be uniformly or non-uniformly spaced, as may be required, by usingthe adjustable teeth 51, or by using a plurality of interchangeable ratchet wheels of the kind shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings. When the length of the blanks is changed, then the ratio of the gearing between the ratchet wheel 52 and the shaft 8 will be changed accordingly, in order to properly locate or place the staples on the blanks. Therefore, the blanks can be made either longer or shorter, as may be desired, by substituting different gearing between the ratchet wheel 52 and the shaft 8, in a manner that will be readily understood.

What I claim as my'invention is:

1. In machinery for driving staples, work engaging and feeding means for intermittently feeding the work into position to be stapled, having a horizontally and transversely disposed driving axis, ratchet feed mechanism operative about said axis for intermittently actuating said work feeding means for a part of its motion, a second driving means having a ratchet wheel provided with teeth located irregularly thereon and including means oscillatory about the axis of said wheel to engage said teeth and feed the work at predetermined irregular distances, and means to gear one said means to the other whereby the staples will not be uniformly spaced.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, having said irregular spaced teeth adjustable on a circle to vary the spacing between the staples.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, said second ratchet mechanism having means of actuation-for starting the feed stroke at high speed and ending said stroke at relatively low speed, the first ratchet feed mechanism having actuating means for starting the feed stroke at relatively low speed and terminating such stroke at relatively high speed, and one mechanism being timed in relation to the other to cause one feed stroke to follow the other to provide a complete feed stroke which begins at relatively low speed and increases to relatively high speed and then terminates at relatively low speed, thereby to prevent undesirable jerking of the materials to be stapled together.

4:. A structure as specified in claim 1, in combination with another uniform ratchet feed mechanism which can be rendered in-- operative while said second mentioned feed mechanism is in operation, but adapted to be rendered operative, and said second mentioned mechanism being also adapted to be rendered inoperative when said other uniform feed mechanism is to be used for intermittently actuating the work feeding means to feed the work. uniformly at regular intervals.

5. In stapling machinery, the combination of work feeding means for intermittently feeding the work in position to be stapled, a plurality of ratchet feed devices, in combination with means whereby one device can be rendered inoperative when another device is in use and provisions whereby said devices may be used interchangeably to actuate said work feeding means to cause feeding motions of equal or different lengths, in the same direction, to lace the staples either uniformly at regu ar intervals or irregularly on the work.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5, at least one of said feeding devices comprising a ratchet wheel having the teeth thereof 10- cat-ed at irregular intervals around the periphery thereof.

7. A structure as specified in claim 5, at least one of said feeding devices comprising a ratchet wheel having the teeth thereof located at irregular intervals around the periphery thereof, said teeth being adjustable on said periphery to change or vary the spacing of the staples.

8. A structure as specified in claim 5, in combination with an automatic brake on the axis of one said feed device adapted to prevent overthrow of this feed device.

9. In stapling machinery for driving successive staples in the work, the combination of work feeding means for intermittently feeding the work for a part of its motion into position to be stapled, having a horizontal and transverse axis, a second ratchet feed mechanism having teeth adjustable to change or vary the spacing of the successive staples, said mechanism including elements oscillatory about the axis of said work feeding means and the axis of said teeth respectively, and means to gear one said mechanism to the other.

10. A structure as specified in claim 9, in combination with another ratchet mechanism to be used interchangeably with said ratchet mechanism, depending upon the character of the spacing desired for the staples on the work.

11. In stapling machinery, in combination with means for feeding the work into position to be stapled, bars to rest on the work to hold the materials thereof against upward displacement, an up and down movable trunnion support whereby the bars are supported for up and down movement, a hand lever, and connections from said hand lever to said bars, whereby said bars may be raised to permit access to the work.

12. A structure as specified in claim 11, in combination with a device for starting and stopping the running of the machinery, and connections between said device and said hand lever, whereby the machinery is automatically stopped when said bars are raised.

13. A structure as specified in claim 11, the connections for raising the bars comprising a toggle for each bar.

14. In wire-bound box blank or crate blank machinery, in combination with work feeding means to feed the work into position for stapling, an upper main driving shaft for actuating the stapling means, rotary means on said shaft having a connection to actuate said work feeding means, wire cutters for cutting the wires between blanks, and separate means independent of said connection for connecting said cutters to said rotary means and adapted to automatically raise the cutters after the wires are cut.

15. A structure as specified in claim 14, comprising automatic means to retain the cutters in raised position, having provisiBiis for automatically releasing the cutters to move by gravity into operative cutting position.

16. A structure as specified in claim 14,

' said means for connecting the cutters with said shaft comprising an arm and a rod having free sliding engagement therein, whereby said rod is free to reciprocate in said arm while the cutters are in raised position, and said structure comprising means for automatically holding the cutters in such raised position and for automatically releasing them into operative cutting position.

17. In machiner for stapling materials together, in comblnation with work feeding means to feed the work into position to be stapled, ratchet feed mechanism for actuating said work feeding means, and means for actuating said feed mechanism, said mechanism comprising arms adjustably connected together, each arm being mounted to swing about an axis of said feed mechanism, the connection between the two arms being adjustable on at least one of said arms, together with gearing between the axes of said mechanism, at least some of which gearing is removable to permit the use of gearing of a difl'arent ratio, thereby to vary the length of fee 18. A vstructure as specified in claim 17, said feed mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel having teeth disposed thereon in position to locate the staples at predetermined points on each blank, said wheel having a ratchet dog for engaging the teeth thereof, and said ratchet wheel having a complete rotation for each blank.

Specification signed this 18th day of J anuary, 1928.

EDWARD CRAIG. 

